Prescription Drug News and Research

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Double-digit premium increases seen in popular Medicare drug plans

Seniors in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare drug plans will see marked premium increases for 2013 if they don't opt to change plans, according to an analysis by Avalere Health.

26 Sep 2012

Prescription drug abuse among young adults drops

Prescription drug abuse by young adults dropped 14 percent last year to its lowest rate since 2002 as authorities continue new attempts to curtail abuse.

26 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 25, 2012

Today's headlines headlines include reports about a study that details accelerating health care spending.

25 Sep 2012

Smoking, obesity and lack of insurance may be shortening life span for some Americans

The New York Times reports that the nation's life-expectancy trend has reversed by four years since 1990 for the country's least-educated whites.

21 Sep 2012

Targeting companies that cut health care costs

Reuters reports that the health care sector will be "a focal point" for years to come and looks at investments in companies that are likely to make money by helping to reduce costs. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News examines whether competitive health care models like Medicare Part D and the Federal Employees Health Benefits program are taming costs as effectively as supporters suggest.

21 Sep 2012

Many states do not fully analyze data on fatal prescription painkiller overdoses

Prescription painkillers are responsible for more fatal overdoses in the United States than heroin and cocaine combined. And while most states have programs to curb abuse and addiction, a new report from Brandeis University shows that many states do not fully analyze the data they collect.

21 Sep 2012

Administration: Health law led Medicare beneficiaries to save $4.5 billion on prescriptions

USA Today reports the Obama administration is annoucing that, because of provisions in the health law Medicare's prescription drug doughnut hole, Medicare beneficiaries experienced considerable savings.

21 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 21, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about recent polling results indicating that, despite GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's efforts to frame the Medicare debate, President Barack Obama still has the advantage on this issue.

21 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's comments point to entitlements' role as big part of 'budget paralysis;' Kristof says candidate inflated 'underlying truth'

Stigmatizing almost everyone with a federal benefit is not just bad politics. It's the worst sort of social stereotyping. But beyond (GOP presidential candidate Mitt) Romney's bluster lies a genuine problem.

21 Sep 2012

FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee to review Celgene’s pomalidomide NDA on Nov. 8

Celgene Corporation today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will hold a review of the Company's new drug application (NDA) for pomalidomide at its meeting on November 8, 2012.

20 Sep 2012

FDA warns consumers not to use Intestinomicina for treatment of infectious diarrhea

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Intestinomicina, a drug product manufactured in El Salvador and marketed as a treatment for infectious diarrhea and acute gastrointestinal infections.

19 Sep 2012

Pfizer announces that 14 abstracts for tofacitinib to be presented at ACR/ARHP annual meeting

Pfizer Inc. announced today that 14 abstracts for tofacitinib, an investigational oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), will be presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) / Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) 2012 Annual Meeting, which is being held November 9-14 in Washington, D.C.

18 Sep 2012

Roundup: Calif. to probe hospital/doctor consolidations; Cuccinelli warns Va. health board on abortion clinic rules

California's attorney general has launched a broad investigation into whether growing consolidation among hospitals and doctor groups is pushing up the price of medical care, reflecting increasing scrutiny by antitrust regulators of medical-provider deals.

15 Sep 2012

First Edition: Sept. 13, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the Census Bureau that, although record numbers of poor people persist, the number of uninsured Americans dropped by 1.3 million.

13 Sep 2012

Ways and Means panel to review IRS mission in health law

A prominent House committee will continue its case against the healthcare law just one day after the conclusion of August recess. On Sept. 11, the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight will look at how the law's implementation could strain the Internal Revenue Service.

6 Sep 2012

Janssen receives FDA Priority Review for bedaquiline NDA to treat MDR-TB

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review to the New Drug Application (NDA) for bedaquiline (TMC207) to treat pulmonary, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in adults as part of combination therapy.

6 Sep 2012

Real-time prescription system reduces inappropriate prescribing of medications

A centralized prescription network providing real-time information to pharmacists in British Columbia, Canada, resulted in dramatic reductions in inappropriate prescriptions for opioid analgesics and benzodiazepines, widely used and potentially addictive drugs. The findings are reported in a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

5 Sep 2012

Roundup: Texas probes Xerox in Medicaid overbilling; Miss. abortion clinic fights to stay open

Texas authorities are investigating whether Xerox Corp. played a role in allowing dentists to allegedly overbill the state's Medicaid system by millions of dollars.

5 Sep 2012

Health Net helps to increase awareness about importance of whooping cough vaccination

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of whooping cough cases in the United States could reach a 50-year high in 2012. The CDC's forecast is based on the fact that, as of July 2012, twice as many cases of whooping cough - or pertussis as it's referred to clinically - had been reported to the CDC thus far this year as compared to the same point in 2011.

1 Sep 2012

Astellas Pharma receives FDA approval for Xtandi to treat metastatic CRPC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xtandi (enzalutamide) to treat men with late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread or recurred, even with medical or surgical therapy to minimize testosterone.

1 Sep 2012

Prescription Drug News and Research

Double-digit premium increases seen in popular Medicare drug plans

Prescription drug abuse among young adults drops

First Edition: September 25, 2012

Smoking, obesity and lack of insurance may be shortening life span for some Americans

Targeting companies that cut health care costs

Many states do not fully analyze data on fatal prescription painkiller overdoses

Administration: Health law led Medicare beneficiaries to save $4.5 billion on prescriptions

First Edition: September 21, 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's comments point to entitlements' role as big part of 'budget paralysis;' Kristof says candidate inflated 'underlying truth'

FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee to review Celgene’s pomalidomide NDA on Nov. 8

FDA warns consumers not to use Intestinomicina for treatment of infectious diarrhea

Pfizer announces that 14 abstracts for tofacitinib to be presented at ACR/ARHP annual meeting

Roundup: Calif. to probe hospital/doctor consolidations; Cuccinelli warns Va. health board on abortion clinic rules

First Edition: Sept. 13, 2012

Ways and Means panel to review IRS mission in health law

Janssen receives FDA Priority Review for bedaquiline NDA to treat MDR-TB

Real-time prescription system reduces inappropriate prescribing of medications

Roundup: Texas probes Xerox in Medicaid overbilling; Miss. abortion clinic fights to stay open

Health Net helps to increase awareness about importance of whooping cough vaccination

Astellas Pharma receives FDA approval for Xtandi to treat metastatic CRPC

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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